CEC approved candidate names for Bihar polls; got clarity on 'quality seats', says Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram

New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): The Congress party's Central Election Committee (CEC) has approved a list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections and has gotten some clarity on the 'quality seats' they want to contest, party's Bihar president Rajesh Ram said on Tuesday.
After atleast a 2-hour-long meeting held at the party's office in Delhi, the party has made strong decisions on the "quality faces" for the Vidhan Sabha seats Congress plans to contest. However, Congress has not announced the seat-sharing arrangement with its alliance partners as of yet, with party leaders Shakeel Ahmed and Rajesh Ram set to go to Patna on Wednesday and meet with their alliance partners.
"There is a two-point stand. Clarity on all our quality seats, as per our equation, has been acquired. After this 2-3 hour-long meeting, we can say that we have made strong decisions on quality faces for the Vidhan Sabha seats from the Congress side. All such names have been approved by the CEC", Rajesh Ram said in a press conference after attending the party's CEC meet here.
Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan has also dismissed any speculation over a possible tussle between partners Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) over seat sharing, as he said, "Na koi matbhed hai, na koi manbhed hai," during the press conference.
Congress is working on the election campaign with their alliance partners, and the discussions over seat sharing are "almost done".
"We are going to Patna tomorrow. After deliberating on priority seats and considering the social dynamics, we will be heading to Patna tomorrow. We are working on the election campaign with our alliance partners. So, we are going to Patna over those seats. The discussions are almost done. Things will go ahead after that". Shakeel Ahmad Khan said.
Earlier today, Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the party's CEC meet in Delhi, along with leaders KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and others.
The polling for Bihar's 243-seat Assembly is scheduled to take place on November 6 and November 11, with the counting set for November 14.
Earlier today, AICC in charge of Bihar, Krishna Allavaru indicated that the seat sharing and party candidates will be decided soon.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has declared its seat distribution within the alliance. BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each, the LJP (Ram Vilas) 29 seats and Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on six seats each. The BJP released its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly elections earlier today.
Political parties have stepped up preparations for the Bihar polls with campaigning expected to pick up momentum in the coming days. The last date of filing nominations for the first phase of polls in October 17. (ANI)